“Over the past couple of years, I would say one of the biggest factors contributing toward more automation of grain facilities is that there’s a lower number of eligible workers for elevator-type jobs. So, people are definitely leaning toward automation so that they can avoid being shorthanded trying to hire people.
“We automated a high-speed rail-loading facility in Milan, KS for Mid-Kansas Cooperative. Increasing the speed of a rail terminal benefits the operators and customers. It takes what would have been a 12-hour job and turns it into a seven- or eight-hour job and with fewer and fewer people. So, automation helps with much quicker processing of grain.
“The faster and more automatically you can move grain, the faster you can move trucks and trains in and out of the elevator.
“Additionally, when you reduce the number of boots on the ground, you reduce the possibility of people getting injured. So there’s a safety component, as well.”
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Reprinted from Grain Journal May/June 2020 Issue